Perhaps nothing drew more attention to NCAA gymnastics judging this season than the Tennessee Collegiate Classic in January. During one session, all four schools competing — Ball State, Kent State, Southeast Missouri and Wisconsin-Whitewater — set new program records for highest team score. Wisconsin-Whitewater set the all-time record for a Division III school at 194.450. Five gymnasts earned a perfect score — the first 10.0 for each of them — at the meet.
While each of those teams would go on to have highly successful seasons, none would reach anywhere near those high scores for the rest of the year. Ball State scored a 198.025 that day in January, then averaged a 196.292 across the rest of the regular season, ending the season ranked 34th. The only other teams that scored about 198 were ranked in the top 12. Wisconsin-Whitewater averaged a 191.223 for the regular season — almost three points lower than…
